Ravensbourne School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the curriculum further so that pupils and students have a wider and better range of opportunities to help them prepare for adult life.
• Ensure that the teaching enables the most able pupils to sustain better progress in developing their skills across the whole range of subjects taught. In particular:
  • improve the use of the outdoor area so that children have access to a wider range of inspiring activities
  • enhance the range and use of reading materials on offer.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The principal has worked effectively with trustees since her appointment in September 2017 to secure the good quality of education at the school. She has navigated the school assertively through an extended period of changes to staff and leadership. As a result, current staff understand the curriculum and leaders’ intentions and priorities for improvement.
• Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness and use this skilfully to decide on further priorities for development. This has enabled the two newly appointed deputy principals to understand what trustees expect of them and make an immediate impact.
• Leaders use funding for pupils effectively to make sure that they sustain good progress over time and have the opportunity to make a strong contribution to the school community.
• The checks that leaders make on the quality of teaching are systematically organised and have a well-defined purpose. The principal has acted promptly and decisively to tackle weaker teaching. Leaders make sure that teaching is consistently effective in helping pupils make good progress. However, changes to the curriculum aimed at helping teachers challenge the most able pupils are at an early stage of implementation and have not yet had the intended impact
• Leaders and trustees use additional funding for disadvantaged pupils wisely and account for its use rigorously. For example, they have recently focused funding on providing challenges and resources to help disadvantaged pupils attend better and become more punctual.
• The primary sports funding is used creatively on specific resources aimed at improving outcomes for pupils. For example, it has recently been used to purchase specialist equipment aimed at helping pupils with physical disabilities develop more independence in controlling their movement.
• The curriculum offers a well-considered range of learning and content along two main pathways, chosen to meet the many different needs of pupils. For example, the pupils in the specialist class for pupils with autism benefit from a good balance of activities and opportunities to make progress.
• The curriculum has recently been thoroughly reviewed because the principal is determined to offer a greater depth of challenge across the range of subjects for the most able. The impact of this is only just beginning to be seen, however.
• Leaders ensure that there is strong provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. For example, learning materials to enable pupils learn about their rights and responsibilities in British society have been adapted to meet the wide range of needs in the school. As a result, pupils demonstrate well-informed mutual respect for one another. They know about and respect the varied backgrounds, needs and cultures of one another. Pupils are also supported to gain access to a suitable range of culturally enriching activities such as African drumming, growing vegetables in an allotment and visiting the theatre. Leaders provide support to parents to help them find out where to take their children during school holidays.

Governance of the school

• The board of trustees and the local governing body are clear about their responsibilities. Local governors currently have a monitoring role. They benefit from detailed and clear information from the principal in determining an accurate overview of the school’s effectiveness.
• The chief executive officer knows the school very well and is ensuring that the resources of the academy trust support the priorities for improvement. For example, the trust has provided strong support for the recent extensive round of staff recruitment.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders provide training and follow up to check that staff understand how to apply statutory guidance to the particular circumstances of the school. For example, they make sure that adults can apply guidance on keeping children safe when online to the needs of this school’s pupils.
• Leaders maintain effective records of safeguarding issues. They use this information to think about lessons which may be learned, to review policy and identify priorities for training.
• Leaders consider particular risk factors they know to be of concern when planning training for staff. For example, they know staff must be skilled in recognising signs that pupils who are non-verbal want to express concern.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have a detailed knowledge of individual pupils’ best ways of learning. This helps them sustain good progress over time, including in English and mathematics.
• Teachers and additional adults possess a comprehensive knowledge of the wide range of communication tools necessary to help pupils take part in and understand lessons. For example, teachers have adapted instructions in recording devices to enable children to use them to communicate immediately when they need to. They use this well to help strengthen relationships and let pupils participate in tasks.
• Teachers use assessment well to plan lessons and ensure that the diverse needs of pupils are met. They understand the curriculum and know how to assess how well most pupils are learning. However, teachers are not as effective in assessing and planning opportunities to challenge the most able pupils in developing skills in English and mathematics.
• Teachers manage and understand pupils’ behaviour well. Individual plans to keep pupils behaving well are consistently implemented and managed across the school. This contributes significantly to pupils’ typically good progress in learning.
• Teachers and additional adults make sure that pupils know what they have achieved in a way which is meaningful for them. This motivating feedback helps pupils build well on their prior learning.
• Teachers typically use resources well. For example, there is good use of equipment in mathematics to help pupils learn to count, order and match. However, there are some gaps in the range of reading materials available to pupils. This means that some of the most able pupils are not challenged as well as they could be.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils of all ages and abilities are challenged and included in opportunities to actively help one another and the wider community. For example, older students lend a hand in delivering food during the lunch break. Pupils enjoy raising money for charity through events such as a summer fete.
• Older students have a role in helping support younger pupils in understanding internet safety. Leaders take account of the varied and complex needs of pupils when deciding on the content of the curriculum related to e-safety.
• Teachers implement the curriculum for sex and relationships education with skill and sensitivity. As a result, pupils develop an ability to express choices and are becoming more independent in some aspects of their personal care.
• Leaders are determined that pupils should learn about their rights and have a voice. They have sought and gained external accreditation for their work on this. As a result, pupils are typically confident and can identify their place within the school community.
• There are good opportunities for pupils to learn about the place of physical activity in adopting healthy lifestyles, including for those pupils with disabilities.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. They benefit from consistently effective promotion of positive relationships by staff. As a result, they commit to learning in lessons and behave particularly well in the transition from one activity to another. As a result, learning is seldom interrupted.
• Leaders record no discriminatory behaviour or bullying. Teachers and additional adults provide very effective support to pupils who need time and space to calm down if they become upset.
• Some pupils in this small school have medical needs which require them to be absent for treatment regularly. This reduces the school’s overall attendance figures. Leaders are determined to improve attendance and are ensuring that it has improved in the last year. They have also been successful in improving punctuality by challenging pupils and parents who make their own way to school rather than using school transport.

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• Pupils make good progress from their starting points, particularly in their personal development. This is because teachers know how each pupil learns best.
• Pupils sustain progress in communicating and moving towards independence in learning. The skilful way that teachers and additional adults help pupils use aids to communication enables pupils to make choices.
• Pupils make good progress from typically very low starting points in English and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils do as well as others with similar starting points.
• The most able pupils are identified accurately, and work is set which enables them to sustain progress. However, the frequency and depth of opportunities to make better progress in their written work are more limited. In the wider curriculum pupils are enabled to develop and explore interests, including opportunities to learn about careers. For example, some older pupils are challenged to solve practical problems such as designing packaging. Several pupils have extended their physical skills through horse riding.
• Pupils make strong progress in physical development because of a well-implemented, effective curriculum. As a result, they are typically alert, stimulated and ready to learn in lessons.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders ensure that children have a suitable range of opportunities to make progress from their very wide range of starting points. These are much lower than those typical for their age. They make sure that staff use assessment skilfully to decide how to prepare children for the next steps in their learning, including when they are ready to move into key stage 1. A small number of children remain in the early years setting rather than moving to the Year 1 class when leaders decide that their needs are best met in this way.
• Leaders have worked effectively with others in the academy trust to sustain the quality of leadership and teaching through a period of staff change. As a result, teachers possess the skills and knowledge they need to make use of specialist resources such as the sensory room to help children learn well.
• Children behave well in the early years setting because they understand the ways adults support and encourage them.
• Teachers provide interesting and effective activities to help children make progress, including in English and mathematics. Provision for children’s physical development is particularly strong. However, leaders acknowledge that the outdoor area is underutilised.
• Safeguarding is effective in the early years. Adults understand how to look for signs of concern when children have very limited ability to communicate.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Students begin their study programmes typically well prepared as a result of the good progress they have made in other parts of the school. Their starting points are always much lower than those typical for their age. The small number of students who are ready for the most challenging curriculum pathway on offer are educated off-site at another academy school.
• Trustees and the chief executive officer have supported the school well to help sustain effective leadership during the recent absence of the pathway leader. They have been successful in using recruitment to strengthen the expertise of teaching.
• One of the recently appointed deputy principals has quickly acquired an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of the study programmes. As a result, he recognises that students need access to a wider and better range of experiences so that, as adults, they can be as independent as possible.
• Leaders ensure that students acquire the skills to move on to destinations appropriate to their needs when they leave. When students are able to benefit from a placement on a college course this is offered and supported effectively.
• All students make sustained good progress in their personal development and are offered the opportunity to study for an accredited qualification designed for students with special educational needs.
• Teachers use good judgement and secure expertise to challenge students in taking responsibility and developing their ability to keep themselves safe. Safeguarding arrangements are effective in this part of the school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142722 Havering 10058816 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Special School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Academy special converter 2 to 19 Mixed Mixed 87 7 Board of trustees Brendan Plunkett Victoria Fackler 01708 341800 www.ravensbourne-special-needs.org.uk/ admin@ravensbourne.havering.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Ravensbourne School opened as a new academy in 2016. It is part of the Hornbeam Academy Trust, which includes two other special schools in North East London.
• The board of trustees, which includes the chief executive officer, is responsible for the school’s work. A local governing body currently has a monitoring role but no delegated powers.
• Six students are currently educated off-site at another school in the academy in order to pursue a different curriculum pathway.
• Almost all of the 87 pupils on roll have education, health and care plans. All attend full time except for four children who attend the school part-time in the early years setting. Pupils come from eight different London boroughs.
• Pupils have a wide range of special needs which mean that they are at a severely delayed stage of development relative to their age. The school has a specialist setting for six pupils with significant needs due to autistic spectrum disorders.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average.
• The principal took up her post in September 2017. She has been joined by two deputy principals who began work at the school in the same week as this inspection.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out a wide range of observations during lessons and in other activities alongside senior leaders. They looked at assessment records and written work completed by pupils.
• Inspectors met with senior leaders, a group of staff and representatives of the governing body. They held a meeting with pupils and attended a parents’ coffee morning. A meeting was also held with the chief executive officer of the Hornbeam Academy Trust.
• The inspection team looked at written records related to safeguarding, assessment and school improvement. They saw evidence of pupils’ learning in a wide range of contexts.
• Inspectors took account of responses to the staff questionnaire, responses to the Parent View online survey and written responses from parents. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Andrew Wright, lead inspector Jo Jones Jane Moon

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector